Although the art of making cheese can be traced to prehistoric times, it has continued to evolve as modern civilization progressed. The advent of new technologies and instrumentation has brought exponential growth in the understanding of cheese components and their function. Even more recently, the evolution of cheesemaking has accelerated, driven by economic factors such as the establishment of the European Economic Community, the changing diet of developed countries, and the environmental and economic concerns associated with whey disposal. Molecular biology has revolutionized the development of starter and adjunct cultures as well as rennets, and genetics will make it possible to maintain ideal milk components for cheesemaking.

Chemistry is defined as the study of matter and its properties. With regard to this definition, the roots of the study of chemistry can be traced back to more than one ancient civilization. Most notably, the Greeks and Chinese each independently postulated thousands of years ago that there must be a small number of elemental substances from which all other things were created as admixtures. Remarkably, both civilizations theorized that air, earth, water, and fire were among those elements. It was much more recently, however—just about 300 years ago—that famed French nobleman and chemist Antoine Lavoisier correctly identified one of the elements experimentally.

Chemistry is defined as the study of matter and its properties. With regard to this definition, the roots of the study of chemistry can be traced back to more than one ancient civilization. Most notably, the Greeks and Chinese each independently postulated thousands of years ago that there must be a small number of elemental substances from which all other things were created as admixtures.